REMEMBER ME?:Jeremy Lin loosens up during practice yesterday in Miami. The injured Knicks point guard said yesterday he is hoping to return to the lineup in time for Game 4 of their opening-round series against the Heat Sunday at the Garden. Photo: N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

MARTY CRASHER: The Flyers’ Matt Read collides with Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, knocking the net off its pegs in the second period of yesterday’s 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semis in Philadelphia. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA — The third time was the curse. The Devils can count themselves lucky they got to a team-record third straight overtime to succumb to it.

If they’re going to square this series tomorrow and rekindle hope that they can get to the third round, the Devils can’t depend on another first period of Flyers rust like the one they barely exploited in yesterday’s 4-3 loss.

They will have to be miles better than they were in the second and third periods, when they managed just seven combined shots after launching 11 in the first nine minutes.

They will have to be a better team, and the question is whether they have it in them. These second-round Flyers aren’t the first-round Panthers, and yesterday’s result flattered the losers.

“We’re very confident we can play with these guys,” Zach Parise said. “We were right there the whole game.”

The Devils still have the chance to swipe home-ice advantage from the Flyers in Game 2 tomorrow, but they have to find a way to slow down the Orange Onslaught.

“We couldn’t pull it off,” Martin Brodeur said. “We’ll refocus and try to get one game in this building.”

Only 1:23 after he had a kicked-in overtime goal disallowed, Danny Briere scored the winner at 4:36 of overtime, ending the Devils’ two-game run of overtime victories that eliminated the Panthers.

“Some people rise to the occasion,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said of Briere. “Some people answer the bell.”

The Devils are 12-27 in their past 39 road playoff games, and have lost 12 of 20 series after they dropped the opener. The chance to beat those odds depends on slowing the Flyers’ forwards and getting a forecheck going.

“As soon as we put the puck behind their D, we had success,” Alexei Ponikarovsky said.

But they failed to do so for too long. Their second and third periods were spent backing up.

“That’s because we weren’t getting on our forecheck,” Parise said. “Forechecking the right way makes them stop. All their speed, that’s one of their strengths.”

Ilya Kovalchuk continues to look like he’s hiding a groin injury, held without a shot on goal yesterday.

“We started sitting back,” Kovalchuk said. “We can’t do that.”

That trait has been the Devils’ downfall all season. Yesterday, they only blew a one-goal lead. They blew three- and two-goal leads in the first round, and how does anyone survive that?

“We have to score goals, because we know they’re going to score goals,” Brodeur said.

The Flyers forced turnover upon turnover, and Brodeur coughed up pucks repeatedly. The Flyers did what they wanted to do.

“Any win in playoffs is a great win — wire-to-wire, come-from behind,” Laviolette said. “I was happy to see the response from our team after the first period.”

The Flyers hadn’t played in a week since eliminating the Cup-favorite Penguins in Game 6 the previous Sunday, and the rust showed early. After flying back from double overtime on Thursday in Florida, the Devils opened with the first 11 shots of the series and the first goal.

Devils coach Pete DeBoer looked like a genius for splitting Kovalchuk and Parise when Patrik Elias stole Matt Read’s pass behind the net and centered for Parise, who immediately put his third goal of the playoffs past Ilya Bryzgalov 3:16 into play.

That was the Devils’ fourth shot, and the Flyers did not get their first until Matt Carle’s blooper at 10:01 of the first.

One goal wouldn’t stand up. Kovalchuk intercepted a Bryzgalov wrap at the right boards but threw a pointless, unforced pass through the slot to no one, and Jakob Voracek took over at his right boards. Voracek sent Briere on a breakaway behind Peter Harrold, and Briere beat Brodeur at 8:07 of the second.

Only 37 seconds later, the Flyers had their first lead. Voracek hurried Brodeur into a bad pass from behind his net, straight to Erik Gustafsson. Brodeur made his patented sliding up-kick save, but was helpless against James van Riemsdyk’s rebound.

The Devils managed just three shots in the second, but tied the game on Travis Zajac’s fourth of postseason on the power play at 13:53, steering in Parise’s pass from the left boards to the goalmouth.

Claude Giroux resumed his playoffs-leading scoring spree, reopening the Flyers’ lead with his seventh at 4:19 of the third, one-timing a pass from Kimo Timonen in the left circle for a power-play score.

Petr Sykora forced overtime with his first of the playoffs — and first postseason goal with the Devils since he scored 10 in the 2001 playoffs. Splitting the defense, Sykora faked a left-wing slap shot then carried in for a wrister that squeezed between Bryzgalov’s pads with 8:38 left in regulation.

Briere finished the game with a left-slot shot after Brodeur was nudged by van Riemsdyk.